Jeremiah 31: 31-34 Ps. 46
Romans 3:19-28 John 8: 31-36
Grace and peace to you from God who created us, Jesus who redeems us, and the Holy Spirit, who comforts us and empowers us. Amen.
When I was in third grade my friend Charlotte made a list of all of the things she didn’t like about me. Now, third grade has been awhile ago, but I still remember some of the items on Charlotte’s list. 1. My bicycle was blue. 2. My last name was spelled funny. 3. I wouldn’t let Charlotte play with my new Barbie doll. 4. I was friends with Brian and everyone knew that he was icky. I did not receive Charlotte’s list very well. In fact, it hurt my feelings and made me generally mad that someone would actually take the time to create a list of the things they did not like about me.
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a priest in the Roman Catholic church, nailed his own list to the door of the castle church at Wittenberg, Germany. It contained the things that he did not like about the Roman Catholic church. There were ninety five of them. Nailing his list to the door was his way of insuring that people in the town would see it, after all they would be coming to All Saint’s worship soon. He hoped they would have good conversation about all that was wrong in the church of that time….and there was plenty that was wrong. The church was selling indulgences so that folks could bypass purgatory and go straight to heaven. Frankly, they were making a good bit of money off of the sale of these indulgences. Plus, they were telling people that they had to DO more in order to achieve salvation. Luther knew otherwise. He’d had a revelation while reading the book of Romans. He knew that our salvation depended upon the grace of God alone. So, he listed the 95 things wrong with the church, as a way of getting the attention of the parishioners and church leaders alike. It was Luther’s way of saying “Listen! Listen to what is wrong in the church! Listen to what God is saying in the Word of God…in Holy Scripture.”
There’s a lot going on in our world that, like Martin Luther’s protest, cries out “Listen!” There are those involved in the Occupy movement saying “Listen! The economy and our economic practices are grossly unfair! Corporate America is getting rich off of the backbreaking work of the poor.”
Protests in numerous countries call out for us to Listen to their cries against their unjust, cruel leaders. Libya, Iraq, Syria, Tunisia, Egypt….the people rose up against what they knew to be unfair, unjust, and wrong by any standard of decency and cried out “Listen!”
Those of us who live in the land of the free and the home of the brave might have a hard time imagining what it would be like to live under the harsh rule of a cruel dictator. But across the globe, it is reality in far too many places. And those who protest put themselves in harm’s way to push back. To stand up for what is right even if they are putting their lives and livelihood in jeopardy. They are clear in what they want to see happen. They want to see their corrupt government overthrown. They want to live and serve under leaders who will guide and lead with equity and justice. This is the result they are hoping for. This is what they long for.
A critique of the Occupy movement has been that they are not clear in what they want to see happen. These protestors know what they are protesting against, but it is harder to articulate exactly what they are calling for. Listen! They say. Here’s what’s wrong with this picture. But it’s so complex that putting forth solutions is complicated and difficult.
So what did Martin Luther want to see happen when he nailed those 95 theses to the castle church door? Did he want to create a new church? (Confirmation students…can you answer this?) No, he did not. He wanted to see the church he loved, the church he served, reformed. And he had ninety five specific examples of how that should happen. Listen! Luther says, as he hammers his list to the door. Listen! The church is doing corrupt things and needs to reform.
For us Lutherans, the Reformation is a big deal. It’s a big deal in history. Martin Luther is cited as one of the most influential people in history, partly for his role in the creation of the Protestant church, but also for bringing the Bible to the people by translating it into the common language.
So, as we look at protestors, and as we determine what it was they were hoping to achieve as a result of their protests, we are left with the question. So what? So the church reforms? So what? And the answers cry out to us from our readings today. Listen! They say. Here’s why this is important. Here’s why this matters.
The prophet Jeremiah had spent the vast majority of his career telling the people of Israel what they had done wrong. They had broken the covenant God had made with them at Sinai. Over and over again they fell short. And in our first reading this morning Jeremiah comes bearing good news. News of a new covenant…a covenant that will be written on the hearts of the people. A covenant that establishes the sacred relationship between God and God’s people. A covenant that applies to all people, from the greatest to the least. In other words, God is forgiving and forgetting and beginning again with the people of Israel. This is HUGE! This is undeserved! This is grace.
Today’s reading from Romans also centers around grace. It offers the crux of Luther’s understanding of grace as it relates to our salvation. Paul is writing to the church at Rome, whom he has not yet visited, and is saying “Listen! Listen to this new way of understanding the role of the law in our lives.” Of course Paul didn’t mean civic laws, Paul meant the law of the Jewish people, the law that they had lived by for years, full of prescriptive things one could DO to earn one’s salvation. And these verses are Paul’s critical understanding of how it is that we are saved by grace, not by works. That God, redeemed us through the sacrifice of God’s son, Jesus. And this redemption is for all people, Jew and Gentile, all people. We’ve all sinned, and we’ve all fallen short and God has redeemed each one of us…not because we deserve it. Clearly we do not. We are redeemed, we are saved, not by works, but by grace.
And the Gospel reading reminds us that it is through Jesus Christ that we are set free. This freedom is not something we can earn, it is not something we can purchase, it is not something we can attain. It is freely given to us through the Son, and so we are free indeed.
This is why we celebrate the Reformation still today. The Lutherans and the Roman Catholics have made great strides in the way we live together in the world; the Reformation is not about our differences. The Reformation matters because it calls us to act upon the good news we have heard. Listen! You are saved by grace! Listen! The covenant is new and for all people! Listen! Jesus has set us free!
Reformation means that we believe that someday God will, as the Psalmist said make war to cease in all the world. God will break the bow and shatter the spear and burn the shields with fire.
Listen! God is at work in the world. The Holy Spirit is alive and active and moving among us. We are re-forming in many and varied ways, but always, always as we trust that God is with us, calling us to Listen.
Join me in singing our Hymn of the Day, Listen God is Calling, as it is found in your bulletins….
Listen, listen God is calling, through the Word inviting, offering forgiveness, comfort and joy.
Jesus gave his mandate: share the good news that he came to save us and set us free.
Listen, listen God is calling, through the Word inviting, offering forgiveness, comfort and joy.
Let none be forgotten throughout the world. In the triune name of God go and baptize.
Listen, listen God is calling, through the Word inviting, offering forgiveness, comfort and joy.
Help us to be faithful, standing steadfast, walking in your precepts, led by your Word.
Listen, listen God is calling, through the Word inviting, offering forgiveness, comfort and joy.
Thanks be to God! Amen!
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